Thomas' 25 Points Leads Buckeyes Deshaun Thomas scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and No. 4 Ohio State beat Rhode Island 69-58 Saturday. Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 15 points, Aaron Craft had 13 points and four assists for the Buckeyes. Xavier Munford had 16 points to lead Rhode Island, which had four players in double figures and trailed by just four at halftime. The Rams were down just six when Craft hit a 3-point shot that bounced around the rim and in with 6:45 left in the game and then stole the ball on the other end of the court. Rhode Island hit eight of its 17 shots from 3-point range to stay in the game, but was outrebounded by 10. Thomas showed his range for the Buckeyes, hitting three of his six shots from behind the arc. With the loss, Rhode Island falls to 89-12 all-time against ranked opponents, and has lost 20 straight games against ranked teams, since beating No. 25 Utah in December 1998.

The Washington (2-1) Series Ohio State and Washington first played in December of 1938 in Seattle. The series began with the Huskies winning the first five games, the first four at Washington and the fifth in Columbus in 1947. The teams have split the last six meetings to give Ohio State an overall 3-8 record. The teams have not met since 1972, a 67-63 loss for the Buckeyes, who were ranked No. 10 against the unranked Huskies. The last time the teams met on a neutral court was Dec. 27, 1961 when the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes downed the unranked Huskies 59-49 at the L.A. Holiday Classic in California. Against teams currently representing the Pacific 12 Conference, Ohio State is 36-36. The last time Ohio State played a Pac-12 foe was against California Nov. 20, 2009 at the 2K Sports Classic in New York. The No. 15 Buckeyes defeated the No. 13 Bears 76-70. Thad Matta is 2-3 vs. the Pac-12. He is 2-0 vs. California, 0-2 vs. Arizona and 0-1 vs. Stanford. Washington is 2-1 after a home win vs. Loyola 85-63 to open the season, a loss to Albany last Tuesday 63-62 in Seattle and the overtime win over Seton Hall Saturday. 84-73. Ohio State defeated Albany 82-60 Nov. 11 and then knocked off Rhode Island yesterday, 69-58.

Noting the Rhode Island Game* The game marked the first meeting between the Ohio State and Rhode Island basketball programs.* The matchup was the second of four in the 2013 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic for the Buckeyes. Ohio State returns to action Nov. 18 against Washington or Seton Hall in Uncasville, Conn., before closing the tournament at home vs. Missouri-Kansas City Nov. 23.* As a ranked team (AP), No. 4 Ohio State is 428-116 all-time. Ohio State is 307-67 when ranked in the Top 10.* Ohio State owns a 63-23 all-time record against Atlantic 10 opponents.* The Buckeyes outrebounded the Rams 34-21 overall and 14-4 on the offensive glass.* Ohio State also owned a 22-4 second-chance points advantage.* Three players scored in double figures for Ohio State: Deshaun Thomas (25 points); Lenzelle Smith, Jr. (15); and Aaron Craft (13).Thad Matta* Matta is 223-65 during his career at Ohio State and 325-96 overall as a head coach.* Against non-conference opponents, Matta has amassed a record of 110-20 during his tenure in Columbus. His teams have never failed to win at least 10 non-Big Ten games over the last eight seasons.* Matta owns a 4-0 career record against Rhode Island. He won all three meetings vs. the Rams in Atlantic 10 Conference play.* During the Matta era at Ohio State, the Buckeyes are 41-5 in November and have a record of 184-21 vs. unranked opponents. Over the last three years, the Buckeyes are 54-1 vs. unranked foes.* Under Matta, Ohio State is 138-22 when outrebounding its opponent.Aaron Craft* Recorded two steals against the Golden Eagles. He has 173 for his career, good for No. 3 all-time in Ohio State history. David Lighty (2007-11) is No. 2 with 191. Jay Burson (1986-89) is Ohio State's career leader with 204.Deshaun Thomas* Posted a double-double for the game. He led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Has scored a total of 941 points for his career (78 games).Sam Thompson* Tied a career high with five rebounds (vs. Albany, 11/11/12).

Three in Double Figures In the two games of the Hall of Fame Classic, three Buckeyes average more than 16 points a game. Deshaun Thomas leads both offensively with 22 points per game and on the boards with 6.5 rpg. Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. are both contributing 16.5 ppg. Craft (7-13) and Smith (5-6) combined have made 12-19 shots from 3-point range and 22-39 from the field. Off the bench, Shannon Scott has made 7-10 shots from the field. Craft leads in assists with 11 against just two turnovers in 35.5 minutes per game. As a team, Ohio State is shooting 51 percent over all (56-111) and from 3-point range (20-39).